Lost Child
by Kalira69
Summary: Sirikan tumbled out of his own reality to land in a bright world where everything is strange and nothing is quite right, even his parents . . . and all he wants to do is go home. (In-universe alternate realities crossing over, Galra AU; Written for Sheith Month, Day 22) (The Empress' Elite series, #8)


Written for Day 22 of Sheith Month: Parents.

Directly related to the story I wrote for Day 14, Meeting the Empress' Elite!

* * *

Sirikan yowled in pain and terror as something _sparked_ through him, like Auntie's magic but it _hurt_ and it was strange and it wasn't Auntie and the world was blurring around him and everything smelled like burning meat and-

Sirikan yowled again, squeezing his eyes closed and curling up tight, wanting his parents.

He crashed into something, knocking the breath out of him, and collapsed. His head throbbed and then everything went away.

When he woke up he was whining almost before he realised he was awake. He opened his eyes and cringed back from the stinging, gleaming white _everywhere_ , lit with shining blue. He had no idea where he was and he had never seen _anything_ like any of this and he wasn't where he was _supposed_ to be and his Daddy and Papa weren't there and his Auntie wasn't there and _no one_ was-

Sirikan wailed quietly, tipping his head up and shivering helplessly, tucking his arms and legs in close. He cried for a while before he finally tired out and slowly calmed a little, falling miserably silent. His parents weren't coming, which meant they weren't _here_ , because there was no way Daddy and Papa wouldn't come for him if he needed them, not ever, and there was _no one_ here, and he could be in _danger_ and _he didn't know where he was_.

Sirikan whimpered miserably and curled up tighter, sniffling.

It took him a few doboshes, but he reminded himself to be brave like his parents and tentatively uncurled, rising to his feet with a little stumble.

Sirikan put his face up, nose twitching as he breathed in. Everything was strange - not just the lights and the hum of the ship but the scents as well - but there was _one thing_. . .

Sirikan trotted down the hallway quickly, following the somehow not-quite-right but still familiar scent. It led him all over the ship's corridors, but he followed the strongest, freshest trails, and he found an open doorway and inside there was a group of people and none of them _looked right_ and it was scary but he drew a deep breath and-

" _Daddy!_ " Sirikan cried, running inside and flinging himself at the source of the comforting scent, arms latching around his Daddy's waist.

* * *

"Daddy!"

Keith jumped at the sudden, high-pitched cry, then froze as a soft weight thumped into him, thin arms latching around his waist and clinging hard. He looked down to find a tousled head of deep purple-black hair, and registered that there was a _child_ clinging to him, half-smothering tiny whimpering mewls against his side.

" _Daddy?_ " Lance repeated, eyes so wide they looked on the verge of popping. "Daddy! Something you need to share with the rest of the class, Keith?" His voice ratcheted into a painfully high pitch as he pointed a little shakily at the small body pressing tight against Keith.

"What? _No._ Shut up!" Keith snapped, tensing and glaring at Lance. "Erm." He looked down at the tousled head again, and gently rested a hand on it, tentative. The child whined and butted his head into Keith's ribs, sniffling. "Hey, it's okay." Keith soothed, petting absently, fluffy, tangled strands catching around his callused fingertips. "Eh. . . I think you're lost, but we'll figure it out." he said gently.

"Daddy?" The child tipped his head back, looking up at Keith with wide, damp eyes. Keith's own eyes widened.

"Oh-" he bit off a curse and swallowed hard. The child was clearly Galra, but his eyes weren't Galra amber - they were almost identical to Keith's own.

"What happened to you, Daddy?" the child asked, voice wavering, and Keith had no words.

A strong hand clasped his shoulder and Keith looked helplessly at Shiro. He smiled a little shockily at Keith, then looked down at the child and- hesitated.

"Uh. . . Syr- Sirkan?" Shiro said, and Keith's brows rose.

" _Sirikan._ " the child said, sticking out his lower lip in a pout. He trembled nervously; it didn't _show_ , but Keith could feel it from his waist all the way down his thigh where the child was pressed up close.

" _What_ is going on?" Allura demanded anxiously, with a tone that implied she had been _quite patient enough_ and was now done waiting. Keith winced by reflex at it, though it wasn't like he had any explanation to offer her or indeed had _done_ anything.

The child whined and ducked his head against Keith again, hiding his face in Keith's shirt. He patted one skinny shoulder soothingly.

"I think- Remember when- When I slipped between realities?" Shiro said, and Keith shuddered, tensing at the memory. Then- His eyes widened. Shiro's shoulders shifted slightly in a quiet display of nerves. "It hasn't been that long - not for us - and he's got to be a few years older now, looking at him, but- Well. Actually, I don't know. I don't . . . know how fast Galra children grow, much less half Galra. Three-quarter."

Keith shook his head, feeling faintly dizzy, and looked down at the child again, finding half his face peeking out from the shelter of Keith's side. "I'm not your daddy," he said, feeling _very strange_ to be saying those words, "but I promise, I'll help you find him again. Okay?"

The child - Sirikan? - sniffled, his eyes growing wetter, and nodded. His grip on Keith got even tighter, and there was a faint prickle on Keith's left side under his hands.

"Don't just tell him _that_! Jeez, Keith!" Lance said, shaking his head and glaring at Keith.

Keith narrowed his eyes. "What, you want me to _lie_ to him?" he demanded.

"It's also got to be pretty obvious that he's not where he belongs." Pidge pointed out, adjusting her glasses. She glanced around the room and then back at him meaninfully.

Keith nodded agreement. "Do you know what happened to you, Sirikan?" he asked gently, stroking a bit of unruly hair out of the child's face as he looked up.

"I got lost." Sirikan said, scrubbing one fist against his cheek. "There was a bright light like Auntie A uses sometimes but it _hurt_ and then I was here and everything is bright and it smells wrong and you're not my Daddy and _I want my Daddy and Papa_." He dissolved into a small wail at the end, breath hot and damp on Keith's side through his shirt, and Keith tightened his grip instinctively.

"Auntie A?" Lance repeated questioningly.

"It's- Uh. It's what Allura is to him. In his world." Shiro said with an abortive gesture.

Allura made a startled sound and stepped forwards. "I- Me?"

Sirikan looked at her and pressed impossibly closer to Keith, almost sliding behind his hip. "You're not Auntie A." he said in a tiny voice.

"It's definitely Allura, though." Keith said, glancing awkwardly at Shiro. "Erm." He remembered Shiro speaking, alone in the quiet of their room, about his - mercifully brief, but terrifying - jaunt across worlds, realities, where he had landed amongst . . . _them_ , but all of them Galra. And he had - somewhat uncomfortably, it seemed - mentioned they had a _child_ , but the idea had been so- Keith had half-forgotten that.

"What do you know about alternate realities, little one?" Allura asked, bending down a little with a friendly smile.

Sirikan looked at her suspiciously, his big, catlike ears twitching and pressing down close to his messy hair. Keith resisted the urge to catch the tip of one of them between his fingers, looking back up at Allura.

"Allura." Keith began, frowning.

Shiro squeezed Keith's shoulder again, echoing his frown at Allura. "I don't think that's-"

"My Auntie A says there are endless worlds and all of them are different and some of them are _more_ different and some of them we may not even exist and there are ways across but it's _really dangerous_ and we don't _ever_ mess with those kinds of things." Sirikan said in one long breath, then ducked his head under Keith's forearm.

"Well in _this_ reality we are all a little different from what you know," Allura said with an awkward little shift in her expression, "but I am indeed Princess Allura, and that is Keith, and Shiro."

"We might look different," Shiro said softly, "but I don't think we are so _very_ different from the people you know."

Sirikan eyed him, eyes darting to the white in his hair and down to his face again.

"You were very small, so you may not remember," Shiro said, crouching but staying on Keith's other side, meeting Sirikan's gaze across him, "but some time ago I fell through realities into _yours_. Your Auntie helped me find the way back home, and we will help _you_ get back to your parents."

"Ah, Shiro, that may be-"

Shiro turned on his knees and glared at Allura so fiercely she actually fell silent. "I will tell you what I know of what the Empress did to get me home." He rose.

Sirikan tugged at Keith's shirt, and he looked down at the boy again. "Da- Mm. Who are?" he asked, looking at the others and back up to Keith. "Nobody but you smells like they should, not even a little." He looked distressed, his ears twitching and his eyes wide.

"Oh." Keith rubbed his shoulder gently. "Well, you know who I am," however alarming the identification had been, "and Allura, and this is Shiro, of course. . ." He paused as Sirikan took a deep breath again, then pressed his face against Keith's shirt.

"He doesn't smell like Papa either." Sirikan said miserably.

Keith patted him helplessly. Shiro's mouth twisted. "You know your Daddy is . . . is half Galra?" he asked hesitantly. Sirikan, fortunately, only nodded. "So is _my_ Keith, even if he looks different. But none of the rest of us are."

"The others over there are Lance, and Pidge." Keith told Sirikan when he looked up. "Do you know them back home?"

Sirikan nodded quickly, then glanced at the others. Lance smiled and wrinkled his nose playfully at the boy, waggling his fingers. Sirikan waved back, then tightened his grip on Keith's clothes. "They're . . . family." he said softly.

"They're my family too." Keith returned quietly.

"Oh. . . Oh _fu_ -" Shiro stopped, clearing his throat. "We- _Family._ We need to figure out how to get him back to his parents before they, uh. Destroy the walls between realities or something trying to get to him."

"That sounds like more than a little different from us." Pidge said, frowning.

"Really?" Lance eyed her. "Do we need to go over the levels of crazy you have sunk to while looking for your family? Or worse, the apparently nonexistent limits of what _Keith_ will do?"

"Excuse me?" Keith said, narrowing his eyes, just as Pidge loudly protested Lance's imprecations on _her_.

"Keith, baby, what did you do the last time _I_ was missing?" Shiro asked, interrupting Pidge and Lance's bickering.

Keith huffed, crossing his arms, though he was careful not to bump the child still clinging to his side as he moved. "That's not-"

"Now picture, instead of _me_ ," Shiro put a hand to his chest, "a grown man who can _at least in theory_ take care of myself," he narrowed his eyes at Keith before he could say anything, if he might want to, "it is a tiny, helpless child who you love at least as much."

Keith shifted, jaw tightening, then jerked his head sharply. It wasn't quite a nod, but he didn't argue any further, either.

"I'll go with Allura and tell her what I know about the . . . crossing between realities, the portal," Shiro said, glancing down at Sirikan, "and maybe tell the others what's . . . happening. Keith. . ."

Keith looked down at the child. He wasn't exactly . . . _comfortable_ with the idea but as the child had yet to even really loosen his grip on Keith for more than a moment, he imagined he would be sticking with keeping Sirikan company. "I'm sure Sirikan and I can find something to do out of your way while you work on the . . . delicate stuff." he said, suppressing a sigh.

"I'll go set up the scanners, Princess." Pidge offered, glancing at Keith and then the child beside him before Allura nodded, raising a hand. Pidge nodded back and headed out, then doubled back and caught hold of Lance, who was staring at Sirikan. "Why don't you go tell Coran and Hunk what's going on." she said, pulling him out on her heels. He protested briefly, loud as usual, if not angry or particularly threatening, but when Sirikan flinched, he stopped, frowning. He left quietly on Pidge's heels.

Sirikan clung to Keith's belt with one hand, small claws digging into the material as he tugged at it. "If- If you need to go too. . ." he said, though his ears were folded back into his hair and his whole body seemed to be crumpling in on itself.

"No." Keith said immediately. "I wouldn't be much help anyway." he assured the child, gently disengaging Sirikan's grip so he could drop to one knee. "Not with this kind of thing. You okay sticking with me?" he asked gently.

Sirikan nodded, glancing up at Allura warily.

"You can tell us what you want, or if you're uncomfortable with anything." Shiro told him gently, and he fidgeted, but nodded. "Or with any of us."

Sirikan shifted, looking uncomfortable, and nodded. "It's all right. Can I just stay with D- Erm." He ducked his head, eyeing Keith from behind his fringe, fingers tightening in the fabric of Keith's jacket, pulling at it slightly with the force of his grip.

"Of course you can." Keith nodded encouragingly. Keith had never in his life been responsible for a child, had rarely even been _around_ children, but even if _he_ would be more comfortable leaving one of the others in charge of Sirikan . . . he wasn't heartless, and it was pretty clear Sirikan was least alarmed by him of all of them. "I'll stay with you until we can send you back to your parents, if you want me." he promised.

Sirikan smiled, ears rising slowly. It was _strange_ , but he was oddly cute.

Allura and Shiro headed for the door, but Shiro paused after a couple of steps.

"Keith." he said under his breath, just barely loud enough to catch Keith's ear. He turned his head towards his lover, raising an eyebrow. Shiro lifted his hands in front of himself, gesturing vaguely. " _Hug him!_ " he muttered.

Keith blinked, tilting his head. Sirikan's ears flicked and Keith guessed his hearing was likely at _least_ as good as Keith's own. He looked up at Keith as Shiro gave him a last look, then followed Allura out into the corridor.

Keith took a moment and then thought _why not_ and wrapped an arm around Sirikan's shoulders. Sirikan stiffened and he winced, but then the small frame relaxed, curling into his loose hold. The child made a tiny humming, purring noise, head resting on Keith's chest just shy of his collarbone, and Keith hummed instinctively back. He relaxed even further, leaning into Keith's side.

He glanced around the meeting room, then folded both arms snugly around Sirikan and brought the child with him as he stood up, shifting him higher. He didn't protest, tucking his head down against Keith's shoulder with a little breathy sound that wasn't quite a sigh. He snuffled against the collar of Keith's jacket.

"Hm. Would you like to go and meet a friend of mine I don't think you know in your reality?" Keith asked, craning his neck to try and get a look at Sirikan's face.

"Okay." Sirikan said without moving. Keith nodded, extending a thought to Red as he headed out into the main corridors of the Castle. She responded with a curious sort of tug, and Keith eyed what he could make out of the child in his arms.

Sirikan lifted his head, soft fur tickling against Keith's jaw. "Am I too heavy?"

Keith took a moment to realise what he'd asked, then laughed. "No, little one, you're certainly not." He patted Sirikan's back and took the turn towards Red's hangar.

"Daddy always says that." Sirikan said with a little smile. "Daddy says he can still throw _Papa_ and I'll never be too heavy for him."

"Hm. Well, I can throw Shiro if I have to." Keith assured him, amused, and the smile grew a bit.

"Daddy says I'll be strong like him someday. When I'm big." Sirikan said, giving Keith a sideways look.

"I'm sure you will." Keith said, faintly trying to picture Sirikan as a fully grown Galra and not quite able to manage.

"Auntie A says I might even be big like Papa. She says I have big paws." Sirikan held out one hand as though to inspect it, and Keith's lips twitched. He reached up and caught the child's hand in his own, and Sirikan's fingers splayed over his palm, claws prickling across his calluses with a faint scrape. Keith didn't exactly have much frame of reference, but he supposed it might be a bit big for a small person of Sirikan's size. Not that he knew _anything_ about Galra growth, or children for that matter, and their proportions were different.

A thought occurred to Keith. "Is your Aunt Pidge taller than your Daddy?" he asked curiously. He knew the others were full Galra in the world Sirikan came from, while the other version of himself was still half, even if he had somehow leaned to Galra where Keith had to the human side.

Sirikan giggled, fingers curling into the cuff of Keith's jacket. "Aunt Pidge isn't taller than _anybody_." he said, ears pricking forwards as he leaned up to look at Keith, grabbing Keith's jacket just shy of his cuff. He smiled, keeping his arm out in front of himself, letting Sirikan keep hold of his sleeve.

"Anybody except you?" Keith countered, and Sirikan giggled again.

"But I'll grow, and Aunt Pidge is all done growing!" Sirikan protested, baby fangs peeking over his lip as he grinned.

"Of course." Keith agreed, stifling a laugh. "Here we are." he added, raising his hand - slowly enough not to yank his sleeve out of Sirikan's fingers - and touching the pad to open the door. He slipped into Red's hangar as the lights came on, and Sirikan looked around curiously. "This is my friend, the Red Lion. We fly together."

Red's presence in the back of his mind sparked with curiosity and surprise. Her eyes flashed.

"She's a _ship_?" Sirikan asked, eyes wide. Keith nodded, and Red shifted, lowering her head and letting out a low rumble. " _Whoa._ Are you a pilot, like Daddy?"

Keith nodded. "I am. So are the others, in lions like Red. She and I are the fastest." he confided. "Red moves better than any of the others, too."

Red lifted her head, tilting it to one side. Accepting her due praise and admiration, Keith thought fondly. Red made another low noise. "She looks amazing!" Sirikan said, eyes roaming over Red. She eased one paw forwards and crouched, lowering her head closer to them. "She's alive?" Sirikan asked, looking at Keith.

"She's a ship," Keith said, frowning thoughtfully, "but she definitely has a mind of her own. I can feel her, up here;" he tapped his temple, "we're bonded."

Sirikan made an awed sound, looking back at Red. "She's amazing." he said softly, and Red prodded inquisitively at the back of Keith's mind, though she felt pleased. Keith showed her the moment when Sirikan had run in, and reflected again on the memory of Shiro sharing what he had seen after his return from slipping between worlds. "I love when Papa and Daddy take me flying with them, some day I want to be as good as Daddy. . ." Sirikan's voice slowed as he spoke before eventually trailing off, and bit his lip, ears drooping slightly.

"Well, I probably shouldn't take you out flying. . ." Keith said, absently neatening a lock of Sirikan's hair that stuck out in a manner very like his own. He realised only after smoothing it back into place how . . . surreal the action felt. Sirikan pushed his head into Keith's touch, though, and he patted Sirikan lightly. "Would you like to go up and look at the stars from an observation deck?" he offered instead.

Sirikan nodded, looking a little less sad. "I like to watch the stars. Uncle Hunk says it makes him sick to look out at them too much but I don't see how." He frowned.

"So does the Hunk I know." Keith said with a shrug. "Fast flying does too. I don't get it."

"Me either." Sirikan said with a little confused crinkle between his brows. "I like flying. It's _great_!"

That, Keith thought wryly as he moved towards the door, made more sense than it didn't. Keith _loved_ flying and even if Shiro perhaps threw himself into it a little less, he was always delightedly at home when in flight. A hundred memories of flying with his lover tumbled through his thoughts and Keith hummed happily.

Red rumbled soft amusement at the back of his mind, and Keith grinned up at her. "Yeah, we like to fly, don't we, kitty?" Red's rumbled aloud once more as she rose to sit on her haunches, her eyes flashing.

"Bye Red!" Sirikan called, waving as Keith carried him out of the hangar.

Red gave a very quiet roar just as they passed through the door, and Sirikan's eyes went wide, his body tensing. Keith tensed as well, but fortunately he didn't seem to be frightened, only surprised. He opened his little jaw surprisingly wide and _yowled_ \- Keith winced at the volume of the strident sound, which carried with surprising power - and Keith felt another ripple of amusement from Red.

Keith took Sirikan to his favourite observation deck, high up in the Castle, though it was a long walk. It took some time to reach it, but the deck was small and quiet, and comfortable, with an expansive view of space on all sides. As he climbed up through the hole in the floor into the deck itself Keith thought of how Sirikan kept rubbing his eyes and flinching, head tucking close against Keith's collar, and left the lights off entirely. There _was_ an awful lot of white, and _bright_ lighting, on the Castle; it bothered Keith too at times. And from what Shiro had said Sirikan's home ship had sounded not so different from the Galra ships in their own universe. Very different from the Castle's shining brilliance.

Stepping away from the deck's entrance, Keith finally let Sirikan down again, allowing him to explore on his own. He hesitated, then trotted right over to the windows, splaying his hands right on the surface of one and leaning so close his nose was probably pressed against it.

Keith smiled slightly, following at a slower pace, and stood near enough to look around a bit, orienting himself. Then he backed off a couple of steps - as Sirikan darted over to another panel for another view - and settled on one of the cushy seats built into the floor.

"Where are we?" Sirikan asked, looking over his shoulder for Keith.

Keith raised his eyebrows, then looked out at the field of stars, the somewhat alarming glow of a nearby planet - Coran swore it was supposed to be that vibrant a green and it was entirely a natural and harmless phenomenon, but Keith was still wary of it - the slow drift as the Castle moved in space. "We only just got here yesterday, but I'll tell you what I know about this part of space if you like." he offered.

"Yes please!" Keith was surprised when Sirikan turned away from the window and moved to join him, dropping into his lap. Keith froze, and Sirikan slowly went still himself. He leaned away and eyed Keith carefully, his ears pressing down into his hair.

Keith, at a loss, brought up a hand to rest on his shoulder. Sirikan shifted a little, one ear quirking up, and then tucked his legs up, curling into Keith's lap and leaning against him, facing the window. Keith shifted awkwardly as the child seemingly made himself comfortable in his lap, then tried to mentally review what he knew of this area of space into something a little less like a war briefing before telling Sirikan about it.

He faltered a couple of times, but Sirikan either didn't seem to notice or at least wasn't disturbed by the gaps or stumbles. Keith ran out of probably-child-appropriate information fairly quickly - he didn't know much about this quadrant to begin with, they'd only arrived in it less than a quintant ago - but he switched to telling him about a festival they had attended in the last system, and Sirikan seemed happy enough.

He sagged against Keith's shoulder more and more as he spoke, though, growing surprisingly heavy for something his size. Keith peered down and realised the child was dozing off, big eyes heavy lidded and mouth slack. He petted Sirikan's hair absently and stopped talking.

One of Sirikan's ears twitched as he shifted, half-rousing, and he nearly slipped off Keith's lap. He wrapped an arm around Sirikan instinctively to keep him in place, and he snuggled into it, burrowing his face against Keith's shoulder. He purred quietly, no longer looking at the stars even a little bit, and Keith found himself at a loss. He patted the child's head again and looked out at the stars himself, settling with the idea of staying put for the moment.

Sirikan gave a soft purr or mumble from time to time, but mostly he was still and quiet, breathing steadily and slipping a little lower in Keith's lap as he slept. Keith kept his free hand on the child's back to arrest his slide downwards, but otherwise left him to his nap. He probably needed the rest, Keith thought, brushing wild hair away from Sirikan's open mouth before settling his hand on Sirikan's back again.

Sirikan had been asleep for a while and Keith's thoughts had been drifting idly as he watched the slowly moving view through the observation windows when he heard a sound from the entrance in the centre of the floor behind him. He shifted a bit and tilted his head just in time to see Shiro pull himself smoothly up into the observation deck.

"There you are." Shiro said, lowering his voice abruptly as his gaze fell to Sirikan. "Is he asleep?" He sounded surprised.

"He fell asleep a little while ago." Keith nodded, rolling his unencumbered shoulder, which was beginning to stiffen. "Is there news? The portal?" he asked.

Shiro nodded, smiling slightly. "Allura needs to get a read off him . . . but he won't have to wait through as much as I did for that. The Castle has a stored memory of the resonance on _me_ when I came back. That helped the process along, but she needs more to be sure." Keith nodded understanding.

"You brought him up _here_?" Hunk chimed in suddenly, peeking over the edge of the hole in the floor. "Didn't you think it might be a little scary for a little kid? The _vast emptiness of space_ just surrounding him?" He shuddered.

Keith glanced at Sirikan, who was still sleeping against his arm and looked completely unbothered by _the vast emptiness of space_. His mouth was open and he was drooling a bit on Keith's sleeve, his lip caught on one of his own little fangs. Keith huffed a silent laugh.

"Hunk, he lives on a space ship back in his own reality; it sounds like he was _born_ on one. I didn't think he'd freak out. And he wanted to see the stars." Keith said patiently. This was his favourite observation deck partly _because_ it was so open, letting him be surrounded by the stars, by space, whatever galaxy they were flying through. Sirikan had seemed to like it as well. Keith wrapped a hand around Sirikan's shoulder gently. "I didn't think it was a good idea to take him out in Red."

Shiro made a low sound and Keith looked up at him curiously. Shiro was looking down at him - them - with a slightly odd expression, his eyes shadowed but warm.

"Shiro?" Keith said softly, and he only shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. Keith hummed, eyes narrowing briefly, but nodded acquiescence. "Sirikan, wake up little one." he urged, shaking Sirikan's shoulder gently, then rubbing his back.

"Wait, he's _asleep_?" Hunk asked, clearly surprised.

"It's been a big day." Shiro said quietly. "Especially for such a little person."

Keith's lips twitched. "I'm sure." he said, though he had to fight not to dwell too much on the memory of when Shiro had just _disappeared_ , right off the Castle, with no sign - and then when he'd come back, shaking and pale and weak. Dimensional travel could be rough, and Sirikan was lucky to have come through it so unscathed as he seemed. Even if he was probably exhausted - if not from sliding through dimensions directly, from the terror and then unease of finding himself in another, unfamiliar world.

"Sirikan. . ." Keith called again, knuckles rubbing over his spine and up to the nape of his neck.

Sirikan squirmed and . . . mewed? He scrubbed his face against Keith's shoulder, snuffling and letting out another soft mew. "Daddy?"

Keith swallowed against the lump in his throat. "Wake up, little one." he said, neither answering to the incorrect address or denying it.

Sirikan tipped his head back, yawning, and blinked sleepily. He whined as he looked up at Keith, and he reflexively wrapped the child in a gentle hug. He sniffled. Keith winced. "Princess Allura needs to have a look at you, but she's working on getting you home and Shiro says it's going well." he soothed.

Sirikan blinked at him, eyes a little unfocused, and he probably hadn't really caught that.

"Are you hungry?" Keith asked instead, because they'd been up here for quite some time, and he had no idea when the child had last eaten besides.

"Erm. . . Maybe." Sirikan said, tilting his head, starting to look a little more awake.

"Maybe?" Shiro repeated.

"Do you want something to eat?" Keith asked, nudging Sirikan back just enough to look at him. "We'll get you something."

"I. . . I don't know." Sirikan said, looking away. He scrubbed one hand across his eyes roughly, slumping back into the support of Keith's arm.

"If you are tell us! We'll get you some great snacks!" Hunk said enthusiastically, giving a little thumb's up.

"Yeah, you might hurt Hunk's feelings if you don't want to eat anything he made." Shiro joked lightly, glancing back at Hunk.

"We hurt Coran's feelings all the time, then." Keith said dryly.

"UnCoran cooks?" Sirikan asked sleepily, giving a slow blink.

"Not very well." Keith advised him. "I suspect his taste buds are fried. If you're hungry I'm sure Hunk has something you'll like though."

"I will! I'll come up with something!" Hunk said happily, pulling himself up a little further into the room to give a determined gesture.

"Okay." Sirikan said, and yawned again, resting his head on Keith's shoulder. "When can I go home, Daddy?" he asked softly.

Keith swallowed thickly, looking up at Shiro. He looked pained. Keith _felt_ pained. He took a breath, awkwardly patting Sirikan's back and climbing to his feet while keeping the child held close. "I- We hope soon, little one." he said, biting his lip.

"Okay." Sirikan said softly, fingers curling into Keith's jacket.

Keith looked helplessly at Shiro, rubbing Sirikan's back as he clung to Keith, hiding his face. "We'll get you a snack and then go see Allura to work on getting you home." he said softly, resting his chin against Sirikan's head for a moment as he crossed towards the hole that lead back to the rest of the Castle. Hunk dropped down out of the way.

"Are you all right holding him?" Shiro asked as Keith reached the edge and turned.

He blinked. "I'm fine, love." he said, stepping backwards and down. He caught the edge with his one free hand as he made his way further down, not much slowed by the weight of Sirikan caught up in his left arm.

Shiro followed him down, and after looking at Keith and Sirikan for a long moment, asked Hunk to bring something for Sirikan to eat down to where Allura was waiting and meet them there. Keith frowned, but nodded and let Shiro lead the way as Hunk saluted playfully and split off towards the kitchen.

Sirikan seemed even more uncomfortable around Allura than Keith had already noticed earlier, despite her best efforts to be friendly. Though she hid it well, she looked a little upset herself at his reaction to her. Fortunately the blue glow of the magic answering her command didn't seem to bother him at all, and he sat quietly on a table as the Castle scanned him, eating the sandwich Hunk had brought him. He'd wrinkled his nose at it at first, but the expression had seemed to be a display of curiosity rather than distaste.

While Hunk asked Sirikan about what kinds of things he usually ate at home, and Sirikan was distracted trying to answer, Keith looked to Allura. She smiled slightly, but shook her head. "It's not- I can lock on to the right reality - or what _appears_ to be - but I cannot be sure." she said quietly. "I'm not sure how my alternate self confirmed where she was sending Shiro, but I-"

"She opened the portal a little, and just . . . asked me. I could feel Black, and something else," Shiro tapped his temple, "and I just," he paused, "knew."

Allura sighed. "We cannot rely on a child - and a child without any such bonds - to recognise his home reality in the same way. I may have to open a portal enough for us to make contact through it . . . and the final portal must also be made safe for such a young child. I cannot do it quite so easily." she said apologetically.

Keith nodded understanding, but looked back at Sirikan with regret. He was a lost child who just wanted his parents. Really, Keith thought, mouth twisting, he was holding up surprisingly well, being thrown alone into this world where everything was strange.

He looked back to Allura as her fingertips brushed his arm. "I will keep working at it until I have a workable step forwards. I believe it will not take . . . too much longer." she said softly. She rubbed her face with one hand, sighing.

Keith caught her wrist. "Don't push yourself too hard, Princess." he said firmly.

Allura smiled faintly. "I will be fine, Keith." she said, but inclined her head in acknowledgement of his concern. "I think I have everything I need from you for the moment, little one," Allura said to Sirikan, smiling warmly, "do you think perhaps if Keith were to take you to bed you could get some rest? I promise, I will keep working on your way home."

Sirikan brought his knees up close to his chest. "Thank you, Princess." he said politely, bowing his head to her, and didn't answer the question. He looked at Keith, then a little past him, presumably at Shiro, standing just behind his shoulder.

Keith moved across to the table and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Think you could try, at least?" he asked, and Sirikan nodded, though he looked sad still.

"I'm sure Allura will let us know the moment we can get you home." Shiro said, joining Keith by the table and leaning lightly against it. Sirikan looked up at him, then at Allura, and she quickly promised to send for them the moment she progressed on the portal.

Sirikan slid down off the table between Keith and Shiro, then paused, bowing formally to Allura as he thanked her again. She put a hand to her mouth, looking like she wasn't sure what to do for a moment, her eyes wide and shocked. Then they regained a little of their usual sparkle, and she curtseyed back.

"I am happy to do this, little one." Allura said warmly, and made a gentle shooing gesture. "Go and rest. The pair of you, too. You've been busy the past few days before this happened, as well." she added, shaking her head slightly.

Sirikan walked through the Castle corridors between Keith and Shiro this time, though he held on to Keith's belt with one hand. Keith wasn't sure if it was just reassuring to hold on to him or if he was being used as a support, but he hardly minded. "Our room?" he asked Shiro, pausing at a junction between corridors. As they came to a stop Sirikan's grip tightened, tugging his belt down slightly.

"It's very different to what he's used to," Shiro said, glancing down at Sirikan, "but so is everything else on the Castle. I figured we'd just bring him back with us?" It went without saying that they wouldn't leave him alone anywhere else.

Sirikan leaned against Keith's leg as they spoke, and Keith rested a hand on his head apologetically. He flicked his ears and butted his head into the touch. They took him through the Castle to the room they shared.

Sirikan paused at the doorway, tipping his head and looking up at them with a confused expression. "This is where we live." Shiro said, stepping inside. "I know it's . . . very different to your parents' rooms." His voice faltered, barely noticeable, over _parents_.

Keith suddenly - if vaguely - remembered what Shiro had said about the rooms their counterparts lived in, and eyed their room again. It was perfectly comfortable, but . . . not exactly luxurious, and to a child who had grown up in something more like a spacious apartment, probably seemed rather small. A single room, with a large bed built into one wall, a desk big enough for them to share extending from the wall opposite the door, and two doors on the left - one opened to a closet, the other to the bathroom.

The only other things in the room were a chest Keith had brought back from one of the planets he visited while working with the Blades, a collection of pictures they had put up on two of the walls, and a couch with a low, slightly cluttered table before it.

"You live here?" Sirikan repeated as he tentatively followed Shiro inside.

"It's just us." Keith said reasonably, closing the door and leaning against the wall beside it. "It's plenty. And," his eyes flicked up to Shiro, "we aren't . . . always in here much anyway."

Sirikan made a humming noise and nodded, looking at a picture of the five paladins not long after they had reached the Castle of Lions and _become_ paladins.

"Are you still hungry?" Shiro asked him, and he turned back towards them with a thoughtful look. "And you, I know _you_ haven't eaten." Shiro rested a hand on Keith's side, brushing a barely-there kiss to his cheek. "Shall I bring something back here?"

Tipping his head into the caress, Keith was about to protest that, but he _was_ hungry, and then Sirikan agreed that he was still hungry as well. "Thanks, love." Keith kissed Shiro fleetingly, hand drifting along his cheek and shoulder in a light caress. Shiro smiled and squeezed Keith's hip before moving away, and Sirikan grinned.

Keith raised his eyebrows and made a curious sound as Shiro slipped out the door.

" _Now_ you're acting like mates." Sirikan said, then tipped his head up and sniffed. Keith had a momentary flash of wondering _what exactly_ he could smell in here, but also-

"Did we not seem like it before?" Keith asked curiously, sliding off his jacket and dropping it on top of the chest.

"You . . . _did_ , but. . ." Sirikan frowned. "It's different."

"We don't act like your parents?" Keith asked, gentling his voice this time, and Sirikan shrugged. He wondered if the mirrors of them acted differently partly _because_ of Sirikan - they had a _child_ together, presumably that had affected their relationship pretty significantly. Of course Keith knew very little of how a Galra couple might behave with each other to begin with. There were few couples among the Blades, and Keith had worked very little with any of them.

"A little." Sirikan said, and nothing else. He climbed up onto the couch and curled up at one end of it, poking curiously at the stack of books at the end of the table nearest him. The little Olkari cube that had been atop the stack tumbled off and he jumped, then ducked his head and brought his knees up in front of himself, ears folding back.

Keith pushed off the wall and collected the cube from the table, where it had landed and started flashing. He tossed it into the air. "Say hello." he said, and the cube spun, hovering, and repeated his words.

Sirikan's eyes widened, and Keith grinned, amused. "We helped out the Olkari a while back, and we've worked with them a few times since then. We have some of their, ah . . . tech." He caught the cube and pulled it down, offering it to Sirikan.

He took it cautiously, and yowled at it. Keith smothered a laugh when it repeated him.

Sirikan spun the cube and let it go, allowing it to float in front of him, spinning first in the direction he had turned it, then the other, and flashing several colours. "Do you go lots of places?" he asked Keith, the cube echoing his question. Keith reached out and tapped it to stop it from repeating speech, but left it alone otherwise. Sirikan poked it and it swooped, flashing briefly purple then back to green.

"All over the universe, it seems." Keith said with a shrug, settling cross-legged on the floor on the other side of the table. "We see a lot of things, meet a lot of people." He wrinkled his nose. "It's . . . really cool, exploring so much."

"That's what my parents say." Sirikan said softly. "Auntie A wants to go _everywhere_ , and Papa says if anyone ever will, it would be Auntie."

Keith nodded. "I can see that." he said, thinking of Allura when she had her mind set on something.

Shiro returned before he could say anything else. He came over to put a tray down on the table in front of the couch, and Keith paid attention to Sirikan's reaction as he ran a hand over his lover's side and tugged him down for a light kiss as he would have if they were alone. The child glanced at them, cocking his head and then looking away, attention on the tray.

"Keith?" Shiro murmured, staying close.

"He said something when you stepped out." Keith said, tipping his head towards the couch. "It made me wonder." Shiro gave him a curious look. "He said we were finally acting like mates." he admitted, and Shiro blinked, then flushed slightly. Keith grinned, kissing his cheek, then pulled away. He really was hungry.

"His parents are," Shiro paused, taking a drink, "pretty affectionate, I guess."

Keith raised an eyebrow. Shiro flushed again, bumping his arm lightly into Keith's. Keith laughed at him and shoved lightly back, then startled as Sirikan laughed. Keith shook his head, going back to his dinner.

After they had all finished eating Sirikan asked more about their travels, and pointed at the photos on the wall. Shiro wound up telling him a few more stories, until he started yawning and rubbing at his face. When he pulled roughly at one of his own ears Keith clasped his wrist and pulled his hand away, frowning.

"Time to get some sleep, I think." Shiro said, eyeing the child with some concern.

Sirikan protested, but he was interrupted by a yawn. He sagged backwards on the arm of the couch, leaning against Keith's hip. "Okay." he said finally, nosing Keith's wrist and snuffling, curling his fingers into Keith's belt again.

Keith looked down at him. "Would you like one of my shirts to sleep in, so you don't have to sleep in this?" He tugged at the shoulder of Sirikan's shirt. Sirikan shook his head, and Keith shrugged. "Wash your face, at least." he said, pointing towards the bathroom door. "And your teeth."

Sirikan laughed, but nodded, sliding off the couch. Keith gathered the remains of dinner back onto the tray Shiro had brought. "I'll take this back to the kitchen, be right back." he said, picking it up, and then nearly tripped as Sirikan suddenly latched on to his pants.

Keith looked down at him, eyes wide. He let go slowly, tucking in on himself with a quiet whine as he stepped back, ears folding down.

"I'll go." Shiro took the tray from Keith's hands. "You said you'd stay with him." he said softly, tipping his head down to the clearly distressed child. Keith frowned. He'd thought Sirikan-

"Okay." Keith smiled apologetically at his lover, then crouched. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'll stay with you if that's what you want." Sirikan nodded tentatively as Shiro moved away, and Keith reached towards him uncertainly. He was surprised when Sirikan clambered right into his arms, clinging to him and pressed against his chest. "Okay." Keith repeated softly.

By the time Shiro returned Sirikan was settled and a little calmer again, his face - and ears - washed, and teeth brushed. He had again refused to change out of his own clothes, with a little pitiful mew and a whisper that they smelled like home. Keith didn't push it, resting a hand atop his tousled head.

Shiro slipped into the bathroom, and Keith took off his belt and boots, but otherwise didn't bother changing for bed himself. He rummaged through the closet for an extra blanket, and had just found it when Shiro emerged, now dressed in pyjamas. He gave Keith a look, and he shrugged. Shiro threw a pair of pyjama pants at him.

Keith laughed and threw the blanket he held at his lover in return. "Fine."

Shiro folded the blanket over his arm, glancing at their miniature guest. "I figured I'd sleep on the couch and Sirikan could sleep in bed with-"

"No!" Sirikan protested, and they both looked at him. "Mates sleep together." he said, looking a little mulish. Keith raised an eyebrow. "They _do_." he muttered.

"He sounds pretty sure." Keith said dryly, looking back up at Shiro.

Sirikan looked bewildered when he glanced back at the child. Keith cocked his head curiously. "Don't _you_?" Sirikan asked in a small voice, sounding a little off, looking between them.

"Normally, yes." Keith assured him.

"I just thought you might be- You might like to stay close to Keith." Shiro said gently. "I don't normally sleep on the couch, I promise." He laughed. Keith shook his head, a fond smile tugging at his lips.

Sirikan pulled at his ear, head low, and Keith's eyes narrowed as he followed the movement.

"Where would you like to sleep?" Keith asked softly. Sirikan looked up. "You can just tell us. What would be most comfortable for you?"

Sirikan fidgeted and tugged at his ear again. "With you?" he said tentatively.

Shiro sighed, the tense set of his shoulders easing a little. "That's why-"

Keith touched his ribs, and he quieted. "With both of us?" Keith asked Sirikan, and he nodded. "That's fine. Isn't it, Shiro?" he asked, looking at his lover. Shiro looked faintly shocked, but he hurriedly agreed. "If that's where you'd be comfortable that's fine with us." Keith said, and went to change into the pyjama pants.

Shiro settled against the wall, as usual, and Keith sat on the edge of the bed, then gestured Sirikan over. He trotted over and leapt easily up onto the bed in a light pounce. Shiro's eyes widened, and Keith's lips quirked. He wasn't terribly surprised.

He lowered the lights to almost nothing, then stretched and lay down himself. He winced as Sirikan clambered over his stomach, putting a knee in his diaphragm along the way. Sirikan curled up between Keith and Shiro, and made a little mrr sound before yawning and tugging a fold of the blanket into his arms.

Keith turned onto his side and pulled the blanket a little higher, brushing a fingertip along one of Sirikan's ears. He shivered, purring softly, and didn't stir otherwise. Keith reached over him and smoothed a hand down Shiro's arm, just able to make out how tense his lover was in the dark. "Hey. You okay, love?" he asked softly.

Shiro sighed. "This is just strange." he said. "Sorry, baby."

"It's all right." Keith twined their fingers and squeezed Shiro's hand comfortingly, then released it. "We just need to get him home." He yawned, closing his eyes.

Shiro said something, but Keith was already drifting and only caught a few words. He didn't sound like he was waiting for a response, and Keith let it go, not struggling to shake off sleep enough to ask what he'd said.

Keith was awoken by the simultaneously jarring sensations of a trilling alert filling the room and a small, heavy weight thumping into his ribs. He groaned even as he bolted upright, and realised Sirikan was clinging to him. His torso and - he winced - his hair, one small hand wound into it and pulling now that Keith had moved.

"I think Allura wants us." Shiro said, palming off the alert. Keith had no idea how he'd gotten up and across the room so quickly and easily, particularly bypassing himself and Sirikan taking up the other half of the bed.

Keith reached up and disentangled Sirikan's hand from his hair, but didn't push the child away. "Right. Think she's got it figured out already?" he asked, then wondered how long they had been asleep.

"Maybe?" Shiro said, shrugging.

"Hey, you awake, little one?" Keith asked, even though he was pretty sure Sirikan _was_ , at least partially. He tipped his head, trying to get a look at Sirikan's face. It didn't work very well, as he had shoved his head up under Keith's jaw. "Sirikan?"

Sirikan made a quiet yowling sound, pushing harder against Keith's collarbone. He finally pulled away a few moments later, blinking and squinting against the light.

"Allura is asking us to come back to the lab." Shiro said carefully, and Sirikan looked at him and blinked a few more times, then perked up. He scrambled off the bed, nearly falling, and Shiro caught him, putting him back on his feet.

Keith put on his boots and grabbed his belt, wrapping it around his hips and settling the knife at the small of his back where it belonged, and Shiro pulled on his own boots, but neither of them bothered to get properly dressed.

Keith held out his arms to Sirikan; carrying him would be faster.

Sirikan all but leapt into Keith's hold, clinging to his shirt as they hurried through the Castle back to the lab where they'd left Allura working the night before. Coran was there with her, but none of the others, and there was a cleared space across the room where the air looked . . . not quite right.

"Ah, there you are!" Allura said, giving them a tired smile. Keith frowned and shot a concerned glance at Coran. "I believe I have locked on to the correct reality, and all the necessary precautions are taken. I-" she paused, then shook her head. "I am going to open a portal, and hopefully your parents will be on the other side of it and can see and speak with us, so that we can be sure to put you back with your family where you belong, little one. All right?"

Sirikan nodded eagerly, and Keith patted his back.

"Should we call the others first?" Shiro asked, his hand a warm pressure on Keith's shoulder. "Before you. . ." He gestured with his free hand.

Allura pursed her lips. "The less interference as I try this the better, I'm afraid. Coran, if you will step out?" she asked. He protested, but after Allura firmly restated her concern about the portal's stability, he obeyed.

"What about us?" Keith asked, putting Sirikan down on the floor beside him but not releasing the child fully yet.

"Actually the two of you may prove helpful to have here. As I am attempting to lock on to _you_ , if another . . . version of you." Allura said, with another tired smile.

"Are you sure you're up to this right now, Princess?" Shiro asked quietly. "If you need to rest before you can do it safely. . ."

"No, I will be quite all right." Allura said firmly, pointing to a spot near her but closer to the strange empty place. "I will rest once this is done. Now, quiet."

Shiro had opened his mouth, possibly to protest further, but he closed it again swiftly and they all remained silent as Allura spread her fingers, calling up her magic. Keith's skin prickled and he moved a little closer to Shiro, reassured by the warm press of his lover against his side.

A swirling portal shimmered into being in the strange patch of air, then twisted and stretched, gleaming blue like lightning shot through a soft lavender glow. It spread wide, with a dark space in its centre that flickered and then slowly shaded in to show-

"Daddy! _Papa!_ " Sirikan howled, taking half a step towards the portal and then freezing even before Keith could grab for him, his ears folding back against his head.

"Sirikan!" Galra Shiro cried.

"Come here, starshine." Galra Keith said, looking like he was an inch from tears, and spread his arms open as he took a few steps closer. His outstretched fingers just reached the portal, pressing outwards into _their_ reality.

Sirikan didn't wait an instant longer, fleeing across the open space and plunging fearlessly into the portal. He thumped into his father's body and clung tight, keening.

Galra Keith wrapped his arms tight around his son and stood, lifting his head to look at the paladins through the portal. Galra Shiro moved to his side, wrapping his arms around Galra Keith and their child, his gaze seeking out Keith's, then Shiro's.

"Thank you." Galra Keith said, smoothing one hand through his son's hair. He tucked Sirikan's head under his jaw, growling softly and rubbing the back of Sirikan's neck. He pressed the child snugly between his own body and Galra Shiro's broad chest as he loomed over them both. Sirikan squirmed, snuggling against both of his parents and mewling quietly, rubbing his face against Galra Shiro's collarbone as Galra Keith continued to pet him.

He looked at Keith, familiar eyes in an unnervingly familiar/unfamiliar face. "Thank you." he said again, soft and full of feeling, one set of clawed fingers wrapped around his son's back and the other clasping his mate's arm.

Keith bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "You're welcome." he said with a crooked smile. "I'm glad he's home safe." Shiro wrapped an arm around him and he leaned into it, looking at Sirikan. "Goodbye."

Sirikan looked back at them as his parents nuzzled each other over his head, twining him even closer between them. "Goodbye." he smiled, waving.

The portal closed just as Keith caught a glimpse of lavender light coming from a tall, elegant figure behind them - one with a cloud of white hair and vibrant pink stripes on her face. Their Empress, Keith guessed, before looking over at Allura. She was slumped over and had one hand braced on a table, supporting herself on it.

"Are you all right?" he asked, taking a step towards her. Allura raised her head and smiled.

"I will be fine. It was merely . . . tiring." Allura said, rubbing her temple with two fingers. "I believe I will . . . go seek out my bed. I am pleased it seems everything is once more as it should be now."

Keith nodded, watching her go and leaning into Shiro again. He heard Coran greet her outside and relaxed, assured he would see to it that Allura was all right and had anything she needed.

"Back to bed?" Keith asked, tipping his head back. He raised his eyebrows as he caught an odd look in Shiro's eyes. "Love?"

"Yes, I think so." Shiro smiled, hugging Keith close and bowing his head to rest their brows together. Keith tipped his head a little further and kissed his lover softly, hands sliding up over Shiro's shoulders, pulling him in.

"I love you." Keith murmured, hands splaying on either side of Shiro's neck and jaw.

Shiro hugged him a little tighter, and he grinned. "I love you too, baby. I'm all right, I promise. His . . . visiting just . . . made me think."

"Mm. Talk to me?" Keith prompted.

"I will." Shiro promised without protest. Keith nodded, satisfied. Shiro moved away, and Keith caught his hand, twining their fingers as he followed his lover back to their room.

* * *

After the last two stories, the Shiro and Keith in _this_ reality now have thoughts and feelings and I really had no intention of writing more with them but it may happen. (They may need to have a discussion about children, especially after Sirikan's visit.)

When Sirikan is falling between worlds, 'burning meat' is one of the smells there (the only one he can identify) because among the things astronauts have identified as the smell of space is bacon/seared steak.


End file.
